Fischer is now potty trained.  He went in the toilet twice like 6 months ago, but has not been interested since.  Until he went to the doctor yesterday.  She said he’s plenty ready as far as his skills–just that it might be a power struggle thing (hard to imagine that with one of our kids, right?).  But he came home and went in the toilet and has been going since.  It’s been amazingly easy, but I guess I shouldn’t jinx it.  Anyway, above are some picture to document this momentous occasion (these are for you, dad – I know you much you like toilet talk).  

He’s had plenty of encouragement from Leo (too much, actually–we’ve had to institute a privacy rule) and from his toys.  We’ve had him just in his underwear so as not to slow him down when the time comes, and as you can see in the last picture, he likes to put the pole of his horse down through his underwear so he doesn’t have to hold it.  Makes sense. He also likes to put his underwear on backwards so you can see the picture of Lightning McQueen/Mac/Mater in the front, but I spared you a picture of that.

We’re back on the chain gang now, but last week we vacationed (I don’t really use this word, but it’s better than ‘holidayed’ – Marissa would say ‘partied’) in Duck, NC (The Outer Banks, also known as OBX) with the whole Romans crew.  Eleven adults and ten children, all under one (fairly large) roof.  The kids were very excited to be at the beach and with their cousins.  Fischer wants to know when we can go back to the swimhouse. 

I took a million pictures and narrowed them down to post some, but still had 50.  So for now, I’ll post the ones of our family at the beach, pool and Wright Brothers Memorial.  More to come later with cousins and at the house.

Fischer had his 3-year check up today.  They had a Nurse Practicioner Student assist w/the Dr. – I think Fischer has his first crush!  She was a really cute girl and was great with Fischer, he was blushing and putting his face in his shoulder while talking to her.  I loved watching it!  Now I’ll know what signs to look for when he’s 16 and in love, I’m not gonna be so happy about it then. :)  

Fischer is 3 feet, 3 inches (90%) and weighs 38 lbs (95%) – big kid but he’s a bean pole.  According to an online Height Predictor this is the low down on Fisch:

“Your boy will likely be 6 ft. 1 in. at age 18. Young men often continue to grow a little past 18 until they reach 21, but their height at age 18 is very close to their final adult height. This prediction is a “best guess” but it’s still just that — a guess. Based on the formula we used there is a 50 percent chance that your boy’s full-grown height will be within 0.8 inches (above or below) of this prediction, and a 90 percent chance that it will be within 2.1 inches.”

I’m just glad he’ll be taller then me!!! And we’ll have some High School athletics in our future.

I’m REALLY behind on my blogging – just got back from a week at OBX and took a week before that just to get ready for the trip.  Lots of posts to come… Fischer turned 3 on May 15 and we had a Backyard Swim Party that was a blast.  Complete with Costco cake (what else is there?), Slip N Slide, sprinklers, kiddie pool, and pinata.  

Here’s my “ode to Fischie:”

I love it that I had a boy for my second child.  Although every baby has been stressful for me, it was as if all my “new mom” freak-outs were used up on the drama of a baby girl, and I could enjoy Fischer.  I think I may have coddled Fischer too much when he was a baby – my reasoning was because I knew in 18 years he wouldn’t be mine anymore.  He’ll leave for school, go on a mission, get married and “cleave unto his wife” and she’ll be his WOMAN, not me anymore.  Daughters always come back, but sons do their own thing.  I already have a problem with his 13-years-from-now Prom Dates, I’ll try to contain myself.  Good thing I have that long to get prepared.  

Fischer is a Tasmanian Devil and I love it.  The kid jumps off EVERYTHING just like his Dad did when he was little.  Fischer is quick to say “I love you” and give tight squeezes.  He baby wrestles Rocky all the time and gives him loves when Rocky gets hurt.  I feel like the first year of Rocky’s life all I said was, “Fischer, get off Rocky!”  He and Leo are great buds and most of the time have tons of fun together. At night Fischer gives me a run-down of the story he wants me to repeat back to him.   The kid is a junk-food junky and has to be bribed to eat his veggies.  I love all these cute, random idiosyncrasies Fischer has.  I feel really lucky to be his mom cuz I think Fischer will be a great person, a great husband, and wonderful father, just like his dad. 

Our good friends Ben and Tara Hale came up last weekend on their way back to Ohio from OBX.  They brought their cute little boys, Max and Seth. We had a great time just hanging out and catching up – it was like no time had passed since the last time I’d seen them.  The kids got along well and had fun – I think Fischer judo-chopped Max a couple times but hopefully Max has recovered and learned some “new moves” from Fisch. 

So to all my other Ohio friends – talk to Tara cuz we made plans for a Girl’s Trip and you guys coming down to VA for some fun!  

p.s. Tara, I was going to post the pic of you and I but I was looking toe up from the flo’ up so I didn’t – I like your button-up shirt! :)

We planted our garden this weekend.  We’re doing the Square Foot Gardening method. Each box is 4 feet by 4 feet and divided into 16 square foot sections. Depending on the what you’re planting, you can do 1, 4, 9 or 16 plants in each square foot. Here is my layout for this year. The ones in pink are Leo’s and in blue are Fischer’s. I bought the tomato and bell pepper plants and some basil; everything else is from seeds. As you can see in the pictures above, a few are already coming up. The neat thing about square foot gardening is that the soil is a mixture of pete moss, compost and vermiculite–no actual dirt (fewer weeds!).  You can read more about it at the link above, but it’s supposed to grow more in a smaller space.

We planted the kids’ sections for FHE (with a little lesson on faith is like a seed).  I forgot to take pictures, so I staged some last night (wasn’t going to tell you, but they looked staged, so what the heck). The kids were excited, but got a little tired of dropping seeds into holes after awhile. They picked out what they planted by themselves – not sure how well watermelon and cantaloupe are going to grow, but we’ll see. Can’t wait to try some garden-fresh vegetables! Next project: learn how to can.

OK, so i have to tell my side now (if you don’t like cheese, skip this post).  We first met because my roommate was dating her roommate.  I went over to her apartment and here was this LOUD and PROUD woman saying crazy stuff and laughing hysterically with her other roommate (Gina–they feed off each other).  I’ll admit, I thought it was a little strange, but it was funny.

The next semester, we end up in the same accounting class and sit by each other.  The class was awful, but I was actually so excited to go to accounting, because we would have such a good time: discussions about the trivial, the serious, the mundane, the hilarious.  Marissa has this–I don’t know what else to call it (but once you’ve been around her, you know what I’m talking about)–love of life, that is magnetic and infectious and hilarious.  Accounting 210 brought us together as friends. 

There was always a little something more there, but it went unspoken.  After the semester was over, I hadn’t seen Marissa for almost a month, and she called me up and chewed me out.  I think that was when I first recognized it.  She took a little longer.  In fact, it wasn’t until after we had a fight (I like to think it was all the romantic tension), had emailed back and forth, and I apologized and took her out to dinner.  That was our first date.  And a month and half later, we were engaged.

The first time we met with our Bishop in Ohio, for tithing settlement, he had never met us, but he told us that with two strong-willed people, you’ll have more fights and worse fights in the beginning, but in the long-term it will be worth it.  That’s been true for us.  I mean, a fight is what brought us together.

Marissa is amazing in many ways–not least her statuesque body–but the best thing about her is how she makes it fun and exciting (and occasionally a little bit scary) to be around her.  She makes you comfortable to be yourself.  She celebrates life every day.  I can’t imagine it any other way.

Denton and I celebrated our 7th anniversary last Saturday – I CANNOT believe it’s been that long!  Some days it feel like a thousand years, and some days it feels like…. 7 years. :)  We kept telling each other “Happy Crap-iversay” because we didn’t end up with any elaborate plans.  At the last minute we thought about trying somewhere new, but ended up at old faithful Maggianos.  And really, it was the perfect night cuz all I wanted for my anniversary was to hang out with and talk to Denton (and eat Family Style at Magg’s).  And I got it.  

Let me tell you a little somethin’ somethin’ about Denton… what you see is NOT what you get, and that’s what I love about him!!!  Everyone thinks he’s this perfect little husband/son, and he is.  But when it comes down to it, Denton is the biggest joke-playing, teasing, hilarious, smack-talking, closet-crazy I have ever met.  And that’s exactly why I fell in love with that little (big) punksucker.

See, before Denton, I mostly dated non-white, non-mormon punks.  Then after my mission I “matured” to honky-white mormon punks.  So when I met Denton (good mormon punk) I didn’t see him as “my type.”  While on my mission, I had prayed and prayed and PRAYED to meet a good guy that I could marry in the temple.  And he was right in front of my face, yet I didn’t see it right away.  So for a year we were best friends.  We talked about each other’s crushes, we sat together in Accounting class and didn’t pay attention to the teacher.  We met for lunch at all the good Mexican places in Provo and car-danced to “Like a Prayer.”  But I still didn’t get it.  Towards the end of my dating career, there were 3 boys, Denton being one of them.  Another boy I had considered my “ideal” and I was so wrong.  By that time I was SO sick of dating and SO sick of the game, I just wanted to start the rest of my life.  So once again I prayed and prayed and PRAYED that the wrong boys would fall out of my life and the right one stay in.  And can you guess what happened? 

So seven awesome, hard working, up and down, fabulous years later here we are.  And I couldn’t be happier or more grateful that I get to spend the rest of eternity with my best friend who is such a good guy/punk and I love that about him.  Happy crapiversay Denton!

For those of you who know my sister Natalie (and how crazy she is), you’ll appreciate her blog: 

SEVEN WEEKS IN EUROPE

Natalie (that lucky dog) is on Study Abroad in Europe through BYU’s Art History program.  She gets to see eight different countries and already I’m TEEMING with jealousy from her experiences in Italy and Greece.  If Denton comes home today and I’m not here, he can find me in a toga w/Natalie checking out Michealangelo’s “David.” (the back side, thank you)

For those of you who don’t know Natalie, let me give you the low down:  Natalie is 10 years younger then me and basically mini-Marissa, except that her figure is not as “rotund” as mine (lucky dog, again!).  I remember back in the dark ages of 1995, Natalie and mom dropped me off at Ricks College. A half hour after they left, Mom called me from Idaho Falls saying Natalie couldn’t stop crying and wanted to say good-bye again.  (Sniff sniff)  I love it when Nat comes to visit cuz all we do is laugh and speak in accents, hers are much better then mine.  The only one I can do is Asian/Jamaican/Southern/English – which means I can’t do it.  And no one gets our jokes – Denton walks around shaking his head and rolling his eyes whenever we’re together, which means he secretly likes it.

Enjoy her blog!  And as Nat would say, “Ciao bellas!” 

Last night (Saturday, April 5) in the Priesthood Session of the Mormon (LDS) Conference, Elder Henry B. Eyring was speaking (among other things) about how the Lord will strengthen you and uphold you as you serve Him.  He talked about how when you do the Lords work you qualify for the Lords blessings. Then he specifically mentioned that as you serve, angels will support you.  During this time he got a little choked up, and you could tell there was context behind those words.

A few weeks ago when Elder Eyring was at home, he suddenly found himself waking up on the floor, with his leg twisted under him.  He went to work, but soon realized he needed to  have his leg checked.  When he did, he found out it was broken (which is why he’s currently using a cane, in case you wondered).

But then as the days went by, he continued to have times where he’d suddenly lose consciousness and he felt very weak.  He was frustrated because he felt helpless.  Newly appointed as the First Counselor to President Monson, he just wanted to serve.  He got in to see the doctor, and had some tests done, and went back to work.  Soon the results came in, and the doctor told him he had to come back to the hospital immediately.

Come to find out, his heart would periodically just stop.  So last Tuesday, he had a pacemaker put in.  Last Tuesday.  I don’t know if you’ve known anyone who’s had that happen,  but it’s a serious surgery, with an extended recovery time.

He got a blessing from President Monson, wherein he was told that angels would support him.  The next day – Wednesday, he attended the meeting with the General Authorities in the temple.  Thursday, he participated in the General Authority training.  Then today (Saturday), he stood up, looking as magnified and healthy as ever, and delivered a powerful address on trusting in God as you serve with all your heart.

He’s living testimony of his own words (as he so testified). 

Nephi said it well, when he said “I Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance.” (1 Nephi 1:20)

How marvelous it is to be led by men of such faith, of such commitment, and of such stature.